Electrical apparatus for timing watches and clocks.



wbn. roman. V ELECTRICAL APPARATUS FOR TIIIHG WATCHES AND GEOGR- APPLIOATIOI FILED APR, 27, 1908.

Patenixad Dec. 15, 1908. I

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W. E. PORTER. I ELECTRICAL APPARATUS FOR WATCHES AND GLOGKS.

APPLICATION FILED APLF'I, 1908.

- Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

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UNITED STATEISA'PATENT OFFICE.

WILSON E. PORTER, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO NEW HAVEN CLOCK00.,

OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

ELECTRICAL APPARATUS FOR TIMING WATCHES AND CLOCKS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lVILsoN E. PORTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in ElectricalApparatus for Timing atches and Clocks; and I do hereby declare thefollowing, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings andthe letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of thisspecification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a view in elevation of a portion of the movement of amaster-clock such as may be used in conjunction with my invention, oneof the plates of the clock being broken away to show its make or-breakwheel. Fig. 2 a View in front elevation of a timing-mechanismconstructed in accordance with my invention, it being understood that aseries of such mechanisms will be electrically connected with themaster-clock. Fig. 3 a view of the timingmechanism with its front plateremoved. Fig. 1 a plan view of the timing-mechanism. Fig. 5 a detailview of the timing-mechanism looking at the inner face of its back plateand showing its preliminary and final positioning slides. Fig. 6 adetail view showing the stop-disk, co-acting shutter and the stop-wheelof the timing-mechanism, together with their immediate co-acting parts.Fig. 7 a detail view of the stop-disk. Fig. 8 a corresponding view ofthe oscillating shutter of the stopdisk. Fig. 9 a detail view of theclampinglever of the time-piece holder.

My invention relates to an improvement in electrical apparatus fortiming watches and clocks from a master-clock, the object of theinvention being to facilitate thiswork, to secure more accurate results,to minimize the nervous strain upon the timers, and to enable the workto be carried on largely independent of the shop noises withoutdecreasing its efficiency.

WVith these ends in view my invention consists in the combination with amaster clock, of a spring-actuated timing mechanism released foroperation under the electric control of the master-clock and providedwith a rated pointer driven in unison with the masterclock, with arating-pointer driven by the time-piece to be rated, with Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed April 2'7, 1908.

Patented Dec. 15, 1908.

Serial No. 429,541.

means for positioning the said pointers for starting them in unison, andwith means for stopping them at a predetermined time for the purpose ofcomparison.

My invention further consists in certain detailsof construction andcombinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed outin the claims.

In carrying out my invention as herein shown, I employ a master-clockwhich may be of any approved construction and which it is unnecessaryfor me to show in detail or to explain further than its provision with amake-or-break wheel 2 constructed and arranged as may be necessary tomake or break an electric circuit for every beat of the clock, thecircuit being made or broken on one beat, and broken or made on the nextbeat, as the case may be. The teeth of this wheel are engaged by adelicate contactspring 3 mounted upon an insulating block A secured tothe movement-plate 5 of the clock. A wire 6 leads from the contactspring3 to one pole of the battery 7, the other pole of which is connected bya wire 8 to a switch 11 connected by a wire 12 to a circuit-breaker inthe form, as shown, of the sounder of an ordinary telegraph apparatusand consisting of an armature 13, a magnet 14; and contact points 15 and16 respectively connected with wires 17 and 18 which form, as it were,main feed wires from which other wires lead to all of the clock-liketimingmechanisms of the series. A wire 10 leads from the movement-plate5 to the magnet 14 and so places the master-clock in the circuit. Theseclock-like timing mechanisms which are all alike will ordinarily beplaced at convenient distances apart upon the long bench at which thetimers sit, each timer confining his attention to the timing-mechanismbefore him. All of these timingmechanisms will be operated in absoluteunison from the master-clock so that there will be no variation of beatbetween them. As these timingmechanisms are duplicates of each other, itwill be sufiicient for my present purpose to describe one of them.

Each timing-mechanism has a front plate 19 and a back plate 20corresponding to the front and back movement-plates of a clockmovementand each is provided upon its front plate with two corresponding dials21 and 22 arranged side by side and correspondingly graduated. As shownthe circle of each dial is divided into 30 spaces numbered 5, 1O, 15,20, 25 and 30. The dial 21 is swept by a rated-pointer 23 which will,under the control of the master-clock, sweep the dial once in 30seconds. On the other hand, the dial 22 will be swept by a ratingpointer24 approximately once in 30 seconds but a trifle faster or a trifleslower according as the beat of the time-piece being rated is faster orslower than the beat of the master-clock. The said rated-pointer 23 isfixed to the projecting forward end of a shaft or arbor 25 provided atits rear end with a heart-shaped preliminary positioning cam 26 and afinal positioning pin 27. The said arbor 25 has mounted upon its forwardend a hub 28 fixed upon it by means of screws 29 and carrying aspider-like friction spring 30 the arms of which engage with the forwardface of friction disk 31 rigid with the forward end of a pinion 32 therear end of which carries an escapementwheel 33 turning from left toright and having its teeth engaged by pallet pins 34 located in the endsof a yoke-shaped pallet 35 having a horizontal arm 36 mounted upon ahorizontal rock shaft 37 journaled in the front and back plates 19 and20. As the pallet 35 is oscillated its pins 34 are alternately clearedfrom the teeth of the escapement-wheel 33, whereby the same is permittedto be turned by the main spring 38 which is wound upon an ordinarywinding arbor 39 and connected with the wheel 33 through a train of anyapproved construction, herein shown as consisting of a main wheel 40meshing into a pinion 41 mounted on an arbor 42 carrying a second wheel43 meshing into a pinion 44 on an arbor 45 car rying a wheel 46 meshinginto the pinion 32 before mentioned. Under this construction the spring38 exerts a constant efiort to rotate the escapement-wheel 33 which isrestrained, however, by the pallet pins 34 and allowed to rotate only asthe oscillation of the pallet 35 permits the wheel to escape.

For the oscillation of the pallet I provide I it with an armature 47located adjacent to the poles of a small magnet 48 supported upon ahorizontal bridge 49 extending between the front and back plates 19 and20, the said magnet being connected by wires 50, 51, with the main feedwires 17 and 18 before referred to. Every time the magnet 48 isenergized by the closing of a circuit in the master-clock it attractsthe armature 47 and pulls the pallet 35 downward against the tension ofthe pallet-spring 52 whereby the lower pallet pin 34 is disengaged fromthe escapement-wheel 33 which escapes one tooth and is then caught bythe engagement of the same pin with the succeeding tooth consequentlyupon the demagnetization of the magnet and the lifting of the pallet bythe spring 52 the lower end of which is connected with the pallet arm 36and the upper end of which is connected with the arm carried by an arbor54. Adjusting screws 55 and 56 mounted in pillars 57 and 58 are providedfor regulating the oscillation of the arm 36 and hence of the pallet 35.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the power required for operatingthe ratedpointer 23 is entirely derived from the spring 38, the electriccurrent being depended upon for nothing more than the operation of thepallet 35 by which the escapement-wheel 33 is released, but therated-pointer 23 is nevertheless swept over the dial 21 in perfectunison with the beats of the master-clock.

The rating pointer 24 which sweeps the dial 22 is mounted upon an arbor59 which projects through the dial 22. For the actuation of this arborby the time-piece to be rated, 1 apply to its projecting forward end apinion 60 having a long split sleeve 61 which grips the arborsufficiently to transmit the movement of the time-piece to be rated toit, but yields to permit the arbor to be turned independently of thesaid pinion as required for positioning the ratingpointer 24 withrespect to the rated-pointer 23 at the time of starting. The outer endof the arbor 59 is supported by a bridge 62 uniting the outer ends oftwo parallel horizontal studs 63, 63, mounted in the lower portion of askeletonized plate 64 having a rim-like retaining shoulder 65 conformingto one of the plates of the time-piece to be rated. The said plate 64will be skeletonized or cut away according to the clearance required forthe time-piece to be rated, whether that is a small clock orwatchmovement. The said plate is secured to and set forward from themovement-plate 19 upon short pillars 66 receiving screw studs 67, 68 and69. Upon the stud 69 I mount a clamping-lever 70 having a handle 71 andtwo arms 72 and 73 carrying spring clamping-fingers 74 75 projectingforward through openings in the plate 64 in position to engage with thatplate of the time-piece to be rated which is applied directly to theskeletonized plate 64 and held against lateral displacement thereon bythe positioning shoulder 65. hen the time-piece to be rated has beenclamped upon the plate 64 as described, one of its wheels or pinionswill mesh into the pinion 60 so as to rotate the arbor 59 and hencecause the rating-pointer 24 to be swept over the dial 22 in unison withthe beats of the time-piece to be rated.

In order to compare the rate of the time piece to be rated with the rateof the masterclock, it is necessary that the rated and rating pointersbe started in unison. For this purpose I employ positioning mechanismcomprising the heartshaped preliminary positioning cam 26 and the finalpositioning 1 pin 27 upon the arbor 25 as already described. Upon thearbor 59 I locate a corresponding heart-shaped preliminary positioningcam 76 and a final positioning pin 77 For co-action with the cams 26 and76 I employ a vertically arranged preliminary positioning lever or slide78 furnished at its outer end with a finger button 79 and provided withslots 80 by means of which it is secured by headed studs 81, 81, uponthe inner face of the back movement plate 20, the lever being alsoformed with a slot 82 for clearing the arbor 45. For co-action with thecams 26 and 76 the lever is provided with inclined arms 83 and 84respectively. When the lever is depressed the said arms 83 and 84 engagewith the said cams 26 and 76 whereby the same, being correspondingly setwith respect to each other, respectively turn the arbors 25 and 59against the friction of the spring 30 and the split stem-61 of thepinion 60 so as to bring the rated and rating pointers 23 and 24 intocorresponding positions over the dials 21 and 22. At this time the arbor25 is turned one way or the other within the pinion 32 and theescapement wheel 33 without disturbing the same, while the arbor 59 isturned in one way or the other within the split sleeve 61 withoutdisturbing the pinion 60] A spring 85 connected with the lower end ofthe lever 78 is provided for normally supporting it in its elevatedposition in which its arms 83 and 84 clear the positioning cams 26 and76. The parts just described are employed for the preliminarypositioning of the two pointers whereby they are brought intocorresponding positions to the rear of their zero or starting positions.

For moving the two pointers from their preliminary into their startingpositions, I employ a horizontally arranged final positioning lever orslide 86 having a finger button 87 at its outer end and formed withslots 88 and 89 receiving headed studs 90 and 91 by which the slide isconnected with the inner face of the back movement plate 20 at a pointsufficiently in front of the same to clear the vertically movable slide58 already described. The slide 86 is provided with depending arms 92furnished with pins 93 and 94, the pin 93 being located to the left ofthe final positioning pin 27, and the pin 94 being located to the leftof the final positioning pin 77. When the slide 86 is pushed from leftto right against the tension of its spring 95, its pins 93 and 94 engagewith the pins 27 and 77 and turn the arbors 25 and 59 from left to rightagainst the friction of the spring 30 and the split sleeve 60 wherebythe rating and rated pointers 23 and 24 are simultaneously brought intotheir zero positions. This movement of the two pointers in no wiseinterferes with the operation of the master clock and the time-piece tobe rated except that the two pointers are as it were crowded aheadfaster than they otherwise would be operated.

The two pointers having been started in unison they are allowed to run apredetermined time after which they are simultaneously stopped to permittheir comparison from which the timer gets the rate of the time-piece tobe rated, using it for the adjustment of the hair spring of the same. Inorder to stop the two pointers simultaneously, I employ a stop-mechanismcom prising a stop-disk 96 mounted on the arbor 45 and having astop-notch 97 normally closed by an oscillating shutter 98 actuated by aspring 99 and interposed between the outer face of the wheel 96 and acollet 100 mounted upon the arbor 45. The oscillating shutter 98projects just enough beyond the periphery of the disk 96 to engage witha stop-pin 101 in the cut-out arm 102 of a two-armed oscillating lever103 mounted upon an arbor 104 and operated by a helical spring 105encircling the said arbor. The stop-arm 106 of the lever 103 carries astoppin 107 normally held out of engagement with the roughened edge of astop-wheel 108 mounted on the arbor 59 carrying the rating-pointer 24.The lower end of the cut-out arm 102 is formed with a slot 109 for theclearance of the arbor 42 of the second wheel 43, with an incline 110for coaction with a pin 111 mounted in the slide 78, and with a cut-offfinger 112 which engages with the upper end of a contact spring 113 andsprings the same away from a contact pin 114 carried by an arm 115, thesaid spring 113 and arm 115 being secured to an insulating block 116 andlocated in the circuit of the wire 51. Normally the engagement of thepin 101 with the edge of the disk 96 and the edge of the shutter 98,keeps the two armed lever 103 swung, against the tension of its spring105, to the limit of its movement to the left whereby its pin 107 isheld out of engagement with the rating-pointer stop-wheel 108 andwhereby the cut-out finger 112 is held out of engagement with thecontactspring 113. Just before the disk 96 completes a revolution, thepin 101 will engage with the edge of the shutter 98 and stop the same.The disk, however, will continue to rotate and will very soon bring itsslot 97 under the pin 101 which will drop into it, the lever 103 beingswung from right to left by the spring 105 whereby the pin 107 engageswith the wheel 108 and stops the rating-pointer 24 and whereby thefinger 112 engages with the spring 113 and breaks the circuit throughthe magnet 48 and so stops the rated-pointer 23. The parts will remainin these positions until the lever 78 is pushed downward, when the pin111 acting on the incline 110 will swing the lever 103 from left toright and lift its pin 107 away from the wheel 108, thus releasing therating-pointer. As the lever 103 swings from left to right the pin 101is lifted out of the notch 97 leaving the shutter 98 free to be quicklyshot by its spring 99 into its normal position in which it closes thenotch 97. Now when downward pressure upon the slide 78 is removed thelever 103 will be swung from right to left by its spring 105, but onlyfor a short distance as this movement is arrested by the engagement ofthe pin 101 with the edge of the shutter 98. This prevents the pin 107and finger 112 from functioning again until the disk 96 has completed arevolution and the shutter 98 has been pushed out of the way by the pin101 to expose the slot 97.

Although the description of the timingmechanism has been interspersedwith descriptions of its operation, I will briefly set forth the methodof using my improved timing apparatus.

The master-clock being located in any convenient position and connectedwith a series of timing mechanisms such as described, they will havetheir rated-pointers actuated in unison with the beats of themaster-clock except-as any one or more of them may be temporarilyshort-circuited in the manner described. As all of the timing mechanismsare just alike, the rating of one time-piece by the timer will explainthe use of all. The timer first applies the time-piece to be rated tothe plate 6 1 of the time-piece holder and clamps it t-hereuponby meansof the handle 71, whereby one of the wheels or pinions of the time-pieceto be rated will be meshed into the transmitting pinion 60. The timernow uses the finger button 79 to depress the slide 78, whereby the pin111 riding over the incline 110 swings the twoarmed lever 103 from leftto right against the tension of the spring 105 and so lifts the pin 101out of the slot 97 and permits the shutter 98 to be shot by its spring99 under the pin 101. The swinging movement of the lever 103 from leftto right has lifted the pin 107 away from the wheel 108 and the finger112 away from the contact spring 113, thus releasing the rating-pointer241 to be driven by the time-piece to be rated through the pinion ($0and closing the circuit through the magnet 18 the intermittentenergization of which from the master-clock will now operate the palletin permitting the wheel 33 to escape. The depression of the slide 78 hasalso effected through its arms 83 and s4 and cams 26 and 7 6, thepreliminary positioning of the rated and rating pointers which are nowbrought into their final or starting positions by the timer who for thispurpose pushes the slide 86 inward, whereby the two pointers are simultaneously brought to their zero positions 'on the dials 21 and 22, theirzero positions being over the marks 15 as shown on the dialsillustrated. Both pointers having been thus crowded ahead intocorresponding positions, now start even and the rated-pointer 23 willrun ahead of or lag behind the rating pointer 24 according as the ratedtime-piece is running slower or faster than the master-clock. The twopointers are allowed to run together in this way for two minutes, thetime required for the revolution of the stop disk 96, as the mechanismshown is constructed, though that time may be varied as desired. Beforethe disk 96 completes a revolution the slightly projecting edge of theshutter 98 will engage with the pin 101 stopping the rotation of theshutter with the disk but not stopping the rotation of the disk, thefurther rotation of which brings its notch 96 under the pin 101 ust asthe time-two minutes is up. The instant the pin 101 drops into thenotches 97 the spring 105 will operate to swing the two-armed lever 103from left toright and so engage the pin 107 with the wheel 108 and thefinger 112 with the spring 113 whereby the two pointers will besimultaneously stopped, leaving the performance of the time-piece to berated recorded upon the dials in so far as by their comparison they willnow show to the timer how far the rate of the time-piece to be ratedvaries from the rate of the master clock. The timer now adjusts the hairspring of the time-piece to be rated as required and repeats theoperation above described. This he does over and over until the rate ofthe time-piece to be rated is so nearly the same as the rate of themaster-clock that the difference may be taken care of by its regulatorin the ordinary way. Under no circum stances does the timer expect to domore than to bring the regulation of the timepiece within the scope ofthe correcting function of its own regulator.

I claim 1. In an electric apparatus for timing watches and clocks, thecombination with an electric circuit, of a 111asterclock, located in thesaid circuit a springactuated timingmechanism located in the saidcircuit and electrically synchronized with the masterclock and providedwith a rated-pointer driven in unison with the master-clock, with arating-pointer driven by the time-piece to be rated, with means forpositioning the said pointers for starting them in unison, and withmeans for stopping them at a pre determined time for the purpose ofcomparison.

2. In an electric apparatus for timing watches and clocks, thecombination with an electric circuit, of a master clock located in thesaid circuit, a spring-actuated timingmechanism located in the saidcircuit and electrically synchronized with the master clock, and adaptedto have the watch to be rated temporarily applied to it and rovided witha rated-pointer driven in unison with the master clock, with a ratingpointer driven by the time-piece to be rated, with means for positioningthe said pointers for starting them in unison, and with means forstopping them at a predetermined time for the purpose of comparison.

3. In an electric apparatus for timing watches and clocks, thecombination with an electric circuit, of a master-clock, located in thesaid circuit a timing mechanism located in the said circuit and having aspring-actuated train including an escapement-wheel, a pallet co-actingwith the said train, an armature carried by the pallet, a magnet for thearmature, the said magnet being controlled time-piece to be rated whichis applied to the said timing mechanism, means for positioning the saidpointers for starting them in unison, and means for stopping them at apredetermined time for the purpose of comparison.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presenceof two sub scribing witnesses.

WILSON E. PORTER.

Witnesses:

GEORGE DUDLEY SEYMOUR, CLARA L. WEED.

